Nightmares
by ArtistKurai
Summary: Sokka's having nightmares about the end of the war, and they all involve Toph. Suki notices Sokka going to Toph's room every night, and she's worried, but Sokka won't confide in her. Things don't quite turn out as she thought they might. Not for those who ship Sukka. You have been warned.


A/N: Just so everyone reading this knows... I HATE SUKI! I don't ship Sukka. I will never ship Sukka. But this idea popped into my head and I had to write it. You'll find out why I was okay with writing this Sukka fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar. If I did, Suki wouldn't exist, and I wouldn't be writing Tokka fanfiction.

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><p>A year and a half has come and gone since the war ended. Zuko was slowly bringing peace back to the Fire Nation with advice from the ever-helpful Katara, and Aang was slowly bringing peace back to the rest of the world. Though peace was coming back to the four nations, there was no peace for Sokka. <p>

Though he had been happily dating Suki for the last nearly two years, he had been feeling uneasy for a while. He had been having nightmares for a few months, and they all involved Toph. The dreams were all different in detail, but they all ended with Toph falling off of the airship or dying in some way during the final battle of the war. 

"Ahhh!" Sokka screamed and shot up in bed. The nightmare he just had was the worst one yet. "Toph," he whispered worriedly and jumped out of bed. He ran down the hall to the earthbender's room and threw the door open. To his relief, the blind bender was sleeping safely and peacefully in her bed. "Thank goodness," the Water Tribesman sighed under his breath. 

"What do you want, Snoozles?" Toph grumbled and sat up. Though she preferred to sleep on the ground, the little earthbender chose to sleep in her bed. Katara was able to convince Toph that she deserved to completely relax and rest since the war had ended, and Toph found she rather liked the comforts of the plush Fire Nation beds. 

"Oh, um," stuttered Sokka, "I was just checking on you is all." He raised a hand to the back of his head and scratched his neck nervously. 

Toph could tell he was only telling part of the truth, but because it was the middle of the night, she didn't care. "Whatever. Night, Snoozles." Sokka stayed in Toph's room to make sure she went back to sleep before making his way back to his own room. 

As he trudged down the hallway, he saw Suki poking her head out of her bedroom door. "Sokka?" she asked. He lifted his head to look at her. "Are you okay?" 

"I'm fine," he mumbled in return. He went on to his room without another word. Suki silently watched her boyfriend walk back to his room, then went back inside her own room and crawled back into bed. She was definitely worried. Sokka had been doing the same thing almost every night for months. He would have a nightmare about Toph dying, then he would run to her room in the middle of the night to make sure she was alright. Suki could understand why he would be worried about his friends, but it was only Toph that he had nightmares about, and it was only Toph he ran to check on in the middle of the night. 

Suki saw how Sokka took care of Toph shortly after the war ended. He was always by her side while she recovered from the post-traumatic stress she suffered for months. While Suki understood Sokka's concern for Toph, it also made her a bit jealous to see him showing more concern for the earthbender than for his girlfriend. She tried to talk to Sokka about it, but he only brushed her off. She couldn't deny the hurt she felt anymore. Deciding to get an answer out of Sokka in the morning once and for all, Suki closed her eyes, relaxed her mind, and went back to sleep. 

The next morning, Sokka was up at dawn. He hadn't been able to get much sleep after the scare the nightmare gave him, so he spent the whole night thinking about what was going on with him. He couldn't explain it, but he felt the need to protect Toph, despite the fact that the war had ended and they were safer in Zuko's palace than anywhere else. It was strange to him that he didn't feel the need to protect and watch over his girlfriend when she had fought in the war just as he and Toph had. Maybe it was because of the experiences he and Toph shared. They had literally saved each other's lives on the airship that day, and if Suki hadn't shown up when she did, they would have died together. He felt a bond with Toph that he didn't feel with Suki, a bond that was forged during battle. 

A knock sounded on his door just as the sun peeked over the clouds, shaking Sokka from his thoughts. "Yeah?" he muttered. The door opened to reveal a worried-looking Suki. 

"Are you okay, Sokka?" she asked him again. Sokka turned his head away from his girlfriend and back to the sunrise. "You're never up at dawn, and you've been getting up almost every night to run down the hall to Toph's room. What's going on?" 

"It's nothing," Sokka tried to say, but Suki held up a hand in protest. 

"No, Sokka, it's not nothing," she said. "What's going on with you? You pay more attention to Toph than you do to me. I understood why you stayed with her while she was recovering after the war, but it's been almost a year since then, and you're still constantly with her. You have nightmares about her every night, and then you get up and run down to her room to make sure she's alright. Why, Sokka? Why do you go through all of this for Toph?" 

"She's my friend, Suki," defended Sokka. He whipped his head around to look at his girlfriend. "She and I have been through a lot together, more than you could probably imagine." 

"More than I can imagine?" the Kyoshi warrior interrupted. "I was in a Fire Nation prison for months. Do you have any idea what it was like there?" 

"Actually, yes. Zuko and I busted you out of there, remember?" Sokka reminded her. Suki huffed a resigned sigh and looked down at the floor. "I know you went through that, and I know it was hard. But Toph and I have gone through it all together. Everything that happened to our group along the way happened to us together. Then when the final battle came, it was more intense than anything." Sokka took a breath and looked out the window. "When we got separated on the airships, I was worried sick. But Toph was there to snap me out of it so we could continue the mission. Then when she and I were hanging off that ledge together, our lives were literally in each other's hands. She and I both thought we were going to die until you came back and saved us. I held her there, and we cried together." 

"You and I have been through things together too," Suki tried to protest. 

"Not like Toph and I have though," the Water Tribesman confessed. "We lived and fought together for months. It's not something that can be overlooked or brushed aside. I'm sorry, Suki, but Toph and I have a bond that you and I don't. It's like with Katara and Zuko. After their battle together with Azula, they had that bond that they didn't have with anyone else." 

Suki knew that Sokka wasn't being harsh with his words or trying to hurt her, but she couldn't deny that she was hurt. "But we fought together that day too," she tried again. 

"Your life wasn't in my hands that day," interrupted Sokka. He leaned his head against the window and stared at his hands. "I didn't nearly lose you like I nearly lost Toph. I know I'm hurting you when I run to Toph every night and stay by her side everyday, and you don't deserve that. I'm sorry, but I can't be with you anymore." 

Suki could feel the tears in her eyes as Sokka finished his sentence. "I understand," she barely choked out. She looked up at Sokka and sniffed back her tears. "Goodbye, Sokka." Without another word, the Kiyoshi Warrior left the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. 

After Suki left, Sokka stood and exited the room as well. He followed the same path he had taken just a few hours before when he ran to make sure Toph was alright. When he got to her door, he opened it as silently as possible and stole to her bedside. He reached a hand out to the still sleeping earthbender and brushed her bangs away from her face. "What now, Sokka?" the younger girl mumbled. 

"Can I hold you for a while?" Sokka asked just as softly. Toph didn't answer, but she rolled over onto her side to give Sokka room to lie down, her back facing him. Without saying a word, Sokka crawled into the bed and pulled Toph into his arms. "Thank you," he whispered. He stroked her cheek once and closed his eyes, finally feeling at ease. 

Fin 

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><p>AN: Now do you see why I was okay with writing this Sukka fic? Tokka all the way, yo! Please review and tell me what you think.


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